The demand for communications systems, such as network, computer, and/or wireless solutions, is constantly increasing. As a result, electronic devices that incorporate integrated circuits (ICs) are continually designed to operate at greater speeds with more efficiency. In a given electronic device, many interconnected ICs are designed to operate and communicate with each other based on very specific timing. As a result, the operation of different components in an electronic device can be synchronized for fast and efficient operation. In addition, as the amount of data that is transferred between two or more integrated circuits increases, data can be organized into data frames, such that data can be transferred in both a serial and parallel manner at higher data rates, such as double-data rate (DDR), triple-data rate, (TDR), or more.
In a high data-rate data transmission system, a data receiver may require synchronization information from a data transmitter from which the data is provided. For example, the data receiver may require a clock signal to synchronize timing between the two ends of a data link that interconnects the data transmitter and the data receiver. As another example, the data receiver may also require a synchronization bit that signifies the beginning and/or end of a data frame. As such, the data corresponding to the most significant bits (MSBs) and the least significant bits (LSBs) can be ordered to properly reassemble the data.
In the example of a high data-rate interface system, an amount of data that is transmitted from the data transmitter to the data receiver is limited to an amount of conductors of the data link that interconnects the data transmitter and the data receiver, as well as the frequency of the synchronization signals. It is often desirable to transmit ancillary information, such as control signals indicative of performance, status, and/or format between the devices in the data transmission system. Transmission of such ancillary information over the existing data lines can greatly sacrifice the high-speed data transfer performance of the data transmission system. However, the addition of one or more signal lines between the data transmitter and the data receiver can result in additional cost and/or can violate spatial requirements for minimizing the size of electronic devices.